Dust-cap for lubricating cups or nipples



B. H. SKELLY.

DUST CAP FOR LUBRICATING CUPS 0R NIPPLES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1920.

1,398,577, Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

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FATENT @FFEQELL BERNARD H. SKELLY, 0F BRIDGEIPORT, CONNECTICUT.

DUST-CAP FOR LUBRICATING CUPS OR NIPPLES.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Nov. 29, 1921 Application filed September 24, 1920. Serial No. 412,487.

To (all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD H. SKELLY,

citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Bridgeport, in the county of Fairield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dust-Caps for Lubricating Cups or Nipples; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a dust cap for lubrieating nipples or cups and it has for its primar object to provide a cup or nipple equipped with a closely fitting cap for the elimination of dust, dirt and foreign matter from covering and entering the cup.

It is well known that grease and oil cups on an automobile soon become covered with a layer of dust and grit which clog the lubricant opening or duct and gradually work down to the bearing especially when the spout of an oil can is inserted in the opening. To properly lubricate the bearing requires a thorough cleaning of the cup or nipple and this additional labor not only soils the hands but is an unpleasant and inconvenient task. This invention, therefore. is designed to eliminate the above condition of facts, and it resides in the contriving of a cup, preferably rectangular and having a beveled top through which a valved oil duct opens, and a conforming cap open on one side and pivoted to the opposite sides of the cup for swinging over and closing the duct, said cap having a lip on the free edge of its'top to engage over the upper, forward edge of the cup to latch the cover in its operative position.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the pre' ferred form of improved cup equipped with the dust cap which is depicted operative;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the cap swung back off the cup and broken away to better show its construction;

Fig. 3 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation showing a slightly modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but with the upper part of the structure in section and showing the way in which the top of the dust cap would be constructed in case the ball check normally projected above the face of the cup.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, the cup 1 is preferably rectangular in cross section to receive a spanner'wrench for con- 6 necting its lowcr threaded end 2 with a hearing. The top face 3 is beveled, providing an acutely angular forward edge 4:.

The cap 5 conforms to the cup but is opened on its front side to permit of the cap being swung from off the cup. The opposite sides of the cap are provided with dependlng ears 6 which are pierced by pivot pins or screws 7 threaded into the body of the cup. The top wall 8 also has a conforming bevel and on its free edge is equipped with a rolled lip 9 formed by bending or curling an extension of the wall downwardly and then upwardly, said lip constituting a spring latch for snapping over the edge 4 75 and holding the cover or cap closed.

The oil passage or duct 10 of the cup opens through the beveled face 3 and is equipped with a ball check valve 11 which engages on an inset seat whereby the ball will be sub stantially flush with the top face and permit perfect engagement of the top wall 8 on said cup.

The rolled lip 9 securely holds the cap closed, and when so disposed the top face 3', oil duct and check valve are protected from dirt and grit. To lubricate a bearing, the cap is swung back, as in Figs. 2 and 3, and the operator may then insert the oil can spout into the clean, valved duct after which the cap is snapped closed.- The construction is exceedingly simple and easily opened and closed, the cap functioning efficiently to eliminate all dirt and grit so detrimental to bearings and annoying to the driver of a machine.

Referring to Fig. 4, it will be noted that the face of the cup is flat as shown at 12 and not beveled, and that the top of the cap is likewise flat as shown at 13, while the pivotal 100 point of the cap is eccentric of the vertical axial center of the cup as shown at 14. In this form of the device, during the final closing of the cap over the face of the cup, the edge of. the cap will cam against the edge 105 of said face and thus wedge the cap firmly in place so that it cannot be jarred loose, and in this instance it is merely necessary to provide a lift finger 15 for the purpose of throwing off the cap.

In the event that the ball check 11 extends above the face of the cup, the cap would be formed with a bulge 16 so that the ball 11 would always be properly seated when the ca was closed over the face of the cup.

hat is claimed is 1. An oil cup having a duct opening through its top face, and a cap for engaging over the top face to close the duct pivoted to the side of the cup and open at its front to permit rearward swinging from off the cup, the front edge of the top wall of the cap being bent downwardly to form a latch for engaging over the forward edge of the cup.

2. An oil cup of rectangular section threaded on its lower end and having its upper face upwardly and forwardly beveled with an oil duct opening therethrough, a seat in said duct slightly inset from said beveled face, a ball check valve engaged on said seat and lying substantially flush with the face, a dust cap conforming to the cup as to its back, side and top faces and open at its front whereby the ca may swing backwardly from off the cup, t e sides of the cap having depending ears, means for pivotally connecting the ears to the sides of the cup, and a rolled lip depending from the front edge of the top wall of the cap for engaging over the forward, acute angular edge of the cup.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BERNARD H. SKELLY. 

